She's A Rainbow
by Nova Adams
Summary: Claudia goes to high school, and meets someone who's, er...oh, just read it, will you?


High school. The pinnacle of society, the pit of despair. The last safe haven before you're gobbled up by the real world. And who better to go through this traumatic time with you than your very best friends?   
Unfortunately, I wasn't going through high school with my very best friends. I would be among total strangers, people who didn't know me, didn't care about me, and probably wouldn't even be able to remember my name.   
My parents had insisted on sending me to the International Academy. That's the same school Jeanine the genius went to. My older sister. I knew I'd never be able to follow in her footsteps. The International Academy was the hardest school in the state.   
  
It was two weeks before school actually started, but my parents had decided that I needed a Mentor. That's this program they have at the IA where someone who's already been to the school for a year takes you around for a while, shows you where the classrooms are, and helps you out with the fast pace of the school.   
My parents dropped me off at the front door. I looked around. No one there. Maybe my Mentor had forgotten the appointment?   
A few minutes later, a car pulled into the parking lot. It was a Ford Mustang, probably vintage, painted black with rainbow-colored flame decals along the sides. Thumping bass emanated from inside. Weird, but beautiful at the same time.   
It parked, and a girl got out. She matched the car perfectly.   
She was wearing a skintight black leotard, black leather boots, and a black headscarf with gold embroidery. She had curly auburn hair down to her waist, creamy pale skin, and eye makeup like Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra.   
I just stared for a second.   
She waved to me. "You Claudia Kishi?"   
I found my voice. "Yes. Um...who are you?"   
"Your Mentor." She walked over to me with a self-assured strut and stuck out her hand. I took it. "Rachel Goldfine. I'm going to be a junior."   
I smiled weakly. "It's really great to meet you."   
She grinned at me. She had the greenest eyes I had ever seen.   
  
************************************************************************************************  
  
We spent the morning walking around the school. Rachel showed me how to negotiate the stairwells ("always keep to the right, otherwise you get trampled"), how to remember the order of the subjects that the different floors dealt with ("SCALMS stands for Social studies, Culture, Arts, Literature, Math, and Science"), the best times to use the library ("Get a pass during study hall, it's jammed at lunch"), and which vending machines gave you free pop.   
After she had introduced me to the entire school, she looked at her watch. "What time are your parents picking you up?"   
"Around three," I said.   
She shrugged. "It's noon right now. We've got three hours to kill. Do you want to go out for lunch somewhere?"   
For some reason, the prospect of lunch with Rachel gave me a tingle of excitement. "I would love to."   
Rachel grinned. "My treat."   
  
We went to a little cafe that was tucked away in a patch of woods. Rachel ordered a Caesar salad, and I got a cheeseburger and French fries.   
"So," Rachel said, once we had gotten our food, "are you going to join any of the clubs?"   
I laughed bitterly. "I probably won't have any time for any clubs, what with all the homework you guys get."   
Rachel frowned. "Oh? And what do you know about the IA workload?"   
I swallowed a mouthful of burger. "When my sister Jeanine went there, she got tons of homework every night."   
Rachel slapped her forehead. "Oh, gods. You're Jeanine Kishi's sister?"   
I nodded. "Yeah?"   
Rachel crunched up a lettuce leaf. "Jeanine Kishi was the most incredibly boring person I have ever met. She signed up for all math and science classes. Please don't tell me you take after her."   
I put down my burger. "You can choose your classes in freshman year?"   
"All the time," Rachel said. "The only catch is that you have to take one language class. French, Spanish, and German are easiest if you're a little lazy. I'd suggest Spanish because not only am I taking it and thus could help you with it, plus Señora Applegate is very easygoing."   
"I'm taking Spanish," I decided.   
"Bien. Now, you have to get credits for math and science and stuff, but there's an easy way to get around that."   
"And that is?"   
"Easy. You sign up for the required classes, then switch out, but it has to be in the second week. First week and they just switch around the names. Third week and you have to return textbooks and stuff." Rachel took a sip of her iced tea. "It's an art. I'm signed up for Biology 3, Calculus, and Physics, but I'm going to change those to Graphic Novel Art, Sculpture, and Art History."   
I grinned like a maniac. "So I really don't have to take any math or science classes at all?"   
"Not at all. The original classes will still show up on your report card, and you'll get the credits for college."   
I was extremely glad my parents had sent me to the IA.   
"So you'll join some of the clubs, then?" Rachel guessed.   
I shrugged. "Sure. Which clubs are you in?"   
Rachel ticked them off on her fingers. "Mural Club, Spanish Club because you get to go to Spain and Mexico during break, Super Gaijin, which is the anime club, and the Rainbow Alliance."   
"What's Rainbow Alliance?" I asked.   
Rachel raised an eyebrow. "It's an lgbt club." She pronounced it Ell-Gee-Bee-Tee.   
"Which means?" I prompted.   
"Stands for gay-lesbian-bi-transgender," she explained.   
My face colored. "Oh. Well, I'm already in the Babysitters Club," I offered.   
"Cool."   
  
************************************************************************************************  
  
Kristy sat cross-legged on the bed. "Can we settle down here?"   
We all settled down.   
I raised my hand. "Guys? I have a question for you. There's this girl that I want to invite to join the club. She's really nice."   
"Then invite her, and we can meet her and vote on it," Mary Ann said.   
I swallowed. "There's one thing that you might not be comfortable with. She's, um, a lesbian. Does anyone have, you know, any problems with it?"   
There was an uncomfortable silence. Kristy cleared her throat. "Er...why don't we talk about that later. Next order of business?"   
  
After the meeting, Stacy took me aside. "Hey, Claud?"   
I blinked. "Yeah?"   
"You know that if something's bothering you, you can always tell me, right? And I won't judge you." Her big blue eyes stared into my face, searching.   
I finally found my voice. "Right."   
  
I was in the middle of taking a shower when it hit me.   
Stacey probably thought I was talking about myself, that I had wanted to gauge the reactions of the club before I said anything. Which was a good strategy, and I filed it away for later. But that simply wasn't the case.   
It wasn't the case at all. 


End file.
